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[futurama] "almost ten deliveries per year!"

Posts

Now, I've actually enjoyed these 3 episodes more than any of the last season, but the same problems with season 5 still remain. And I still say it's one of the same problems as the Simpsons. The new writing teams are essentially writing fan fiction of characters they grew up with.

I don't know if I'd go that far, but I will admit both season 5 and what's been shown of season 6 have been remarkably deep in weird little winking nods to the original 4 seasons. Hedonism Bot was all over season 5, and rarely for any good reason other than to make a passing gay-panic joke.

Futurama has a deep enough cast of recurring characters to actually write decent stories about them, but I'd rather the writers either write a story for a character or come up with a new one. Using them repeatedly as one-off gags, especially the same one-off gag each time, gets really stale.

If I hear "My Manwich!" one more time, I'm going to throw something at my TV.

As far as bad episodes go, I don't really like Hell is Other Robots; I Second That Emotion and either of the Flexo episodes. But I don't really like Flexo as a character. I find him to rather annoying.

The problem with that theory is that the new writing team on Futurama is, for the most part, the old writing team. The last three episodes were written by writers from the original four seasons (hell, J. Stewart Burns, who wrote the episode that won an Emmy, wrote "Neutopia"). They should know how to write these characters because they helped characterize them in the first place. Why they seem to be missing the mark now... I don't know.

Right - and the writer of the current episode was one of the writers on "The Problem with Popplers", one of my favourite episodes ever. I maintain it's the fact that they can't (or won't) put as much time and money into episode development as they used to. This bender ghost episode had a single writer, with Groening and Cohen producing as normal. The Problem with Popplers had 3 writers, and the oft-mentioned system of doing a table read, and going back and adding more and more jokes when people weren't laughing as much - if it's being done at all for these, it's not being done as extensively or as effectively.

You people are crazy. The new episodes are great. The cat episode was great.

"Cash, cash, CASH FOR YOUR BONES"
Nibbler smoking a pipe, looking out the window determinedly, having his diaper changed by Amy
"I'm petting mine down to the bone!"
"What do cats need with that much yarn and cobalt?"
"Now come on Bender. Something sinister won't build itself."
"He's one of those dog-operated puppets that's been adapted for use by a cat!"
"My best friend died in that uniform."

I'll have to re-watch this episode (i kept getting interrupted during the second half) but the first half was glorious. Unless the second half was way worse than the bits i did pick up, this felt like golden age futurama again.

"Technology isn't intrinsically good or evil. It's how it's used. Like the Death Ray."

That episode has some decent jokes, but the cats aren't very interesting or funny. Meow Mix jokes are not first class material.

The episode also outlines something they've been doing far too frequently since the series restarted - having characters say ridiculously obvious things and trying to pretend it's funny. It's like they've become the embodiment of the Robot Devil's "You can't have your characters say how they feel! That makes me angry!"

Except it's not ironic or funny when you do it constanty; it's lazy...which is why they made fun of it in the first place.

The episode also outlines something they've been doing far too frequently since the series restarted - having characters say ridiculously obvious things and trying to pretend it's funny. It's like they've become the embodiment of the Robot Devil's "You can't have your characters say how they feel! That makes me angry!"

Except it's not ironic or funny when you do it constanty; it's lazy...which is why they made fun of it in the first place.

Uh, the Robot Devil was talking about having characters say "I'm sad" or "I'm happy" rather than showing it.

The episode also outlines something they've been doing far too frequently since the series restarted - having characters say ridiculously obvious things and trying to pretend it's funny. It's like they've become the embodiment of the Robot Devil's "You can't have your characters say how they feel! That makes me angry!"

Except it's not ironic or funny when you do it constanty; it's lazy...which is why they made fun of it in the first place.

Uh, the Robot Devil was talking about having characters say "I'm sad" or "I'm happy" rather than showing it.

Yes, the Robot Devil parodies lazy writing and acting by doing that exact thing he disdains. And in recent episodes characters will say something incredibly obvious or unnecessary - something that should just be shown and not said. But the writers apparently think having the main characters look incredibly aloof is somehow funny.

Stuff like "And now I'll let down my guard for no reason at all!" is just lazy. No "I haven't been harassed by robot ghosts lately, eh, who needs this thing." or "I broke that doohicky in my sleep." Just "Let us move the plot forward by having our character announce that they're doing something stupid for no reason - that's funny, right?"

I think the main problem with the new episodes is the terrible, stupid obvious family circus style jokes. Fry-day, really? That kind of shit is a real groaner. They might as well put on Conway Twiddy.

Really? To me, that kind of thing is the complete opposite of Family Guy jokes - "this Saturday shall henceforth be known as Fry-Day" isn't dwelt upon, no-one stares awkwardly at each other for several seconds, it just cuts to the next scene. Possibly I'm slower on the uptake than most, but I liked that it took my brain just a second to work out why having two days called 'Friday' right next to each other might be massively confusing, and then I was in the middle of some exposition.

I do think that overall the 'punchlines' used before a scene change have been weaker overall for these past couple of seasons, but it doesn't hugely stand out for me.

And we're saying that despite your opinion to the contrary they aren't. Hence the reference doesn't make sense.
I will admit the pacing for these episodes is very off. And I am sick of then running the manwhich thing into the ground. The actual writing is solid though.

Whats the Cat episode? New Season? I've only seen the gray goo, lady parts, and the Bender ghost.

It was from last season.

I thought it was cute.

I think the worst Futurama episode I've ever seen has still made me laugh repeatedly. I don't know which the worst would be offhand. Do movies count? Because one of the movies I found pretty meh. Maybe it was Into the Wild Green Yonder.

Maddie: "I named my feet. The left one is flip and the right one is flop. Oh, and also I named my flip-flops."

Yes, the Robot Devil parodies lazy writing and acting by doing that exact thing he disdains. And in recent episodes characters will say something incredibly obvious or unnecessary - something that should just be shown and not said. But the writers apparently think having the main characters look incredibly aloof is somehow funny.

Stuff like "And now I'll let down my guard for no reason at all!" is just lazy. No "I haven't been harassed by robot ghosts lately, eh, who needs this thing." or "I broke that doohicky in my sleep." Just "Let us move the plot forward by having our character announce that they're doing something stupid for no reason - that's funny, right?"

I've noticed this, too. I think these kinds of jokes can work if used efficiently and sparingly, but I don't think that's what's happening right now. Not only does it come across as lazy, but sometimes it strikes me as annoyingly repetitive: what was the point of having Fry shout that he was going to save one of the audience members from that rolling globe moments before he jumped in and saved one of them? Maybe it's just not my kind of humor, but it felt like episode padding to me.

Yes, the Robot Devil parodies lazy writing and acting by doing that exact thing he disdains. And in recent episodes characters will say something incredibly obvious or unnecessary - something that should just be shown and not said. But the writers apparently think having the main characters look incredibly aloof is somehow funny.

Stuff like "And now I'll let down my guard for no reason at all!" is just lazy. No "I haven't been harassed by robot ghosts lately, eh, who needs this thing." or "I broke that doohicky in my sleep." Just "Let us move the plot forward by having our character announce that they're doing something stupid for no reason - that's funny, right?"

I've noticed this, too. I think these kinds of jokes can work if used efficiently and sparingly, but I don't think that's what's happening right now. Not only does it come across as lazy, but sometimes it strikes me as annoyingly repetitive: what was the point of having Fry shout that he was going to save one of the audience members from that rolling globe moments before he jumped in and saved one of them? Maybe it's just not my kind of humor, but it felt like episode padding to me.

Humor and the plot. Admitting that you can't save both of them while risking your life to save one of them is funny, plus it got a callback with the Amish sphere and the climax, when Bender decides to do something selfless for once. Besides, Fry was yelling it while he was jumping to save one of them. It didn't really feel like episode padding to me.

I'll agree with Jeffe, even the worst episodes of Futurama have entertained me. Weirdly enough I'd also nominate Into the Wild Green Yonder as the worst episode. Also I kinda liked the cat episode, yet I hate actual cats.

A million times this. The original series had it all over the second coming in terms of clever jokes. Futurama is so very much like reading the funnies in a sunday newspaper. Except with billowing saggy farnsworth tits.

I think one thing they're missing is being restricted. The restricting censorship of being on network TV and the restricting fear of needing to do well to not be cancelled. A lot of good in the original run is from them being creative in regards to getting things into the show that wouldn't have normally been able to make it in. Nowadays they've got free reign so they just do things bluntly instead of creatively to the detriment of the show. I've always been one to say that restrictions help creative endeavors by forcing one to come up with things they wouldn't have otherwise.

I think one thing they're missing is being restricted. The restricting censorship of being on network TV and the restricting fear of needing to do well to not be cancelled. A lot of good in the original run is from them being creative in regards to getting things into the show that wouldn't have normally been able to make it in. Nowadays they've got free reign so they just do things bluntly instead of creatively to the detriment of the show. I've always been one to say that restrictions help creative endeavors by forcing one to come up with things they wouldn't have otherwise.

I've thought this as well.

There's nothing inherent about being uncensored that makes comedy funnier. It's what I never understood about Jon Kricfalusi's desire to have visible genitals in Ren & Stimpy episodes.

I love that Benders entire reasoning for this episode is rendered moot

Spoiler:

All a dead robot needs is an extra body hence their mortality is pointless

It did

Spoiler:

sap some of the sentimentality from Lethal Inspection.

Also

Spoiler:

If ghost Bender exists in the computing cloud then how does he exist on the non-machine Amish planet?

I mean, normally I'd let it slide with "a wizard did it", but we're talking about the same show that invented a whole mathematical theorem to fill a plot hole in a previous episode. Here they just gloss over it completely.

I think one thing they're missing is being restricted. The restricting censorship of being on network TV and the restricting fear of needing to do well to not be cancelled. A lot of good in the original run is from them being creative in regards to getting things into the show that wouldn't have normally been able to make it in. Nowadays they've got free reign so they just do things bluntly instead of creatively to the detriment of the show. I've always been one to say that restrictions help creative endeavors by forcing one to come up with things they wouldn't have otherwise.

I've thought this as well.

There's nothing inherent about being uncensored that makes comedy funnier. It's what I never understood about Jon Kricfalusi's desire to have visible genitals in Ren & Stimpy episodes.

see also: Arrested development's use of bleeping.

I agree with those saying that the revived series feels as if they've crammed less effective jokes in whether for cost or whatever. That said it's still an excellent show, benderama was a great episode among several other excellent ones last year. Hopefully if it rates well they'll get a bigger budget to do some more work sharpening the jokes.

I think one thing they're missing is being restricted. The restricting censorship of being on network TV and the restricting fear of needing to do well to not be cancelled. A lot of good in the original run is from them being creative in regards to getting things into the show that wouldn't have normally been able to make it in. Nowadays they've got free reign so they just do things bluntly instead of creatively to the detriment of the show. I've always been one to say that restrictions help creative endeavors by forcing one to come up with things they wouldn't have otherwise.

I've thought this as well.

There's nothing inherent about being uncensored that makes comedy funnier. It's what I never understood about Jon Kricfalusi's desire to have visible genitals in Ren & Stimpy episodes.

The man is mentally deranged. That's really the only thing to understand.

I love that Benders entire reasoning for this episode is rendered moot

Spoiler:

All a dead robot needs is an extra body hence their mortality is pointless

It did

Spoiler:

sap some of the sentimentality from Lethal Inspection.

Also

Spoiler:

If ghost Bender exists in the computing cloud then how does he exist on the non-machine Amish planet?

I mean, normally I'd let it slide with "a wizard did it", but we're talking about the same show that invented a whole mathematical theorem to fill a plot hole in a previous episode. Here they just gloss over it completely.

I don't think ghosthood is a given for dead robots, just special cases, and therefore wouldn't necessarily cheapen the death of a robot, as in most cases dead is dead is dead.

I love that Benders entire reasoning for this episode is rendered moot

Spoiler:

All a dead robot needs is an extra body hence their mortality is pointless

It did

Spoiler:

sap some of the sentimentality from Lethal Inspection.

Also

Spoiler:

If ghost Bender exists in the computing cloud then how does he exist on the non-machine Amish planet?

I mean, normally I'd let it slide with "a wizard did it", but we're talking about the same show that invented a whole mathematical theorem to fill a plot hole in a previous episode. Here they just gloss over it completely.

I don't think ghosthood is a given for dead robots, just special cases, and therefore wouldn't necessarily cheapen the death of a robot, as in most cases dead is dead is dead.

Didn't the robot devil tell Bender that robots who commit suicide become ghosts which can not pass on to the afterlife because their software gets stuck in an infinite loop? It would then also make sense that when the robot devil dies he simply returns to hell.

I love that Benders entire reasoning for this episode is rendered moot

Spoiler:

All a dead robot needs is an extra body hence their mortality is pointless

It did

Spoiler:

sap some of the sentimentality from Lethal Inspection.

Also

Spoiler:

If ghost Bender exists in the computing cloud then how does he exist on the non-machine Amish planet?

I mean, normally I'd let it slide with "a wizard did it", but we're talking about the same show that invented a whole mathematical theorem to fill a plot hole in a previous episode. Here they just gloss over it completely.

Second spoiler:

Spoiler:

Maybe he was projecting himself from the on-board wireless router on the Planet Express Ship.

I think one thing they're missing is being restricted. The restricting censorship of being on network TV and the restricting fear of needing to do well to not be cancelled. A lot of good in the original run is from them being creative in regards to getting things into the show that wouldn't have normally been able to make it in. Nowadays they've got free reign so they just do things bluntly instead of creatively to the detriment of the show. I've always been one to say that restrictions help creative endeavors by forcing one to come up with things they wouldn't have otherwise.

I've thought this as well.

There's nothing inherent about being uncensored that makes comedy funnier. It's what I never understood about Jon Kricfalusi's desire to have visible genitals in Ren & Stimpy episodes.

The man is mentally deranged. That's really the only thing to understand.

He's also essentially unemployable at this point, since he's pretty much pissed off/scared away every single broadcaster. Hell, the man can't even get anyone to work for him at an indie animation studio nowadays.

I think one thing they're missing is being restricted. The restricting censorship of being on network TV and the restricting fear of needing to do well to not be cancelled. A lot of good in the original run is from them being creative in regards to getting things into the show that wouldn't have normally been able to make it in. Nowadays they've got free reign so they just do things bluntly instead of creatively to the detriment of the show. I've always been one to say that restrictions help creative endeavors by forcing one to come up with things they wouldn't have otherwise.

I've thought this as well.

There's nothing inherent about being uncensored that makes comedy funnier. It's what I never understood about Jon Kricfalusi's desire to have visible genitals in Ren & Stimpy episodes.

The man is mentally deranged. That's really the only thing to understand.

He's also essentially unemployable at this point, since he's pretty much pissed off/scared away every single broadcaster. Hell, the man can't even get anyone to work for him at an indie animation studio nowadays.

I love that Benders entire reasoning for this episode is rendered moot

Spoiler:

All a dead robot needs is an extra body hence their mortality is pointless

It did

Spoiler:

sap some of the sentimentality from Lethal Inspection.

Also

Spoiler:

If ghost Bender exists in the computing cloud then how does he exist on the non-machine Amish planet?

I mean, normally I'd let it slide with "a wizard did it", but we're talking about the same show that invented a whole mathematical theorem to fill a plot hole in a previous episode. Here they just gloss over it completely.

Second spoiler:

Spoiler:

Maybe he was projecting himself from the on-board wireless router on the Planet Express Ship.